After spending $200,000 to build a new parking lot shared by five downtown Sylva businesses, the property owner lost a state grant she was initially promised to help with the cost.

As Jackson County officials craft plans to open a liquor store in Cashiers, possibly as soon this summer, they must first determine whether the town of Sylva is in or out.

“Once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right…”
– Grateful Dead “Scarlet Begonias”

If the Grateful Dead taught us anything through their music, it would be the mere fact that surprises, in all shapes and sizes, can come from the most unexpected of encounters and corners of the universe.

The town of Sylva is one of those corners.

Most people have heard of a sightseeing tour, perhaps a wine or beer tasting tour, and maybe even the all-encompassing pleasure tour. But Sylva residents got an ear-dose when they followed a musician and sound expert on a not-so-common sound tour around town.

Since the town of Sylva’s curbside recycling program was reinstated about five years ago, its participation has stagnated, with the vast majority of residents not partaking.

Three longtime doctors with Sylva Pediatrics will soon come under the wing of Mission Hospital in Asheville.

The physicians will keep practicing out of their same offices in Sylva and Bryson City, and keep serving the same local patients they always have. But come January they will be known as Mission Children’s Sylva and Mission Children’s Bryson City.

Sylva native and renowned Southern Appalachian storyteller Gary Carden received the North Carolina Award for Literature, the state’s highest honor, on Oct. 30 at a ceremony in the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

Despite pleas for leniency, the owner of a Sylva auto dealership faces a $500 fine for failing to build a sidewalk in front of his car lot.

Russ Cagle, owner of Concept Automotive, initially agreed to build the sidewalk last spring but since has attempted to persuade town leaders to allow him to skirt the requirement.

Two years ago, Gregg Fuller tried to fill a void in Sylva’s nightlife scene when he opened the No Name Sports Pub, featuring drinks, food and live bands three to four nights a week. But soon, the increasingly boisterous crowds and loud music became a bit too much for the nearby neighbors.

Though the weather is getting colder and winter is emerging on the horizon, Doug Weaver is all smiles.

It’s open season for chili.

“Chili itself is not just a dish, it’s a state of mind,” he said. “There’s no better spicy food than chili. It’s an institution.”